Barroca, Aguilar captain 2024 PBA All-Stars, set to pick from 27-man pool
MANILA, Philippines – The City of Smiles will have plenty of reasons to be joyful this March 22 to 24 as the PBA All-Star Weekend returns to Bacolod with the best stars the league has to offer.
Leading the 29-man All-Star group are this year’s captains, top vote-getter Mark Barroca of the Magnolia Hotshots and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra, who will pick their teammates from the remaining 27 players chosen via fan, coaches, and media voting.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) players complete the rest of the top 10: Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson (No. 3), Christian Standhardinger (No. 6), Jamie Malonzo (No. 7), and Maverick Ahanmisi (No. 10) join Aguilar at the top of the list, while Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva (No. 5) and Paul Lee (No. 8) join Barroca.
Seven-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo (No. 4) and CJ Perez (No. 9), meanwhile, are the fans’ top choices to represent the Beermen, the newly crowned Commissioner’s Cup champions.
Calvin Oftana (No. 11) and Jayson Castro (No. 16) will represent flagship Manny V. Pangilinan team TNT, Chris Newsome (No. 13) and Cliff Hodge (coaches/media vote) will carry the Meralco banner, and Robert Bolick (No. 20) will solely represent NLEX.
All-Stars from independent teams are NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino (No. 15), Phoenix’s Ricci Rivero (No. 22), Jason Perkins (coaches/media) and Tyler Tio (coaches/media), Terrafirma’s Juami Tiongson (No. 23), and Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood (No. 24).
Newly-signed Blackwater guard James Yap gets the top Bacolod vote and will participate in his 18th career All-Star Game at age 42.
Completing the pool are Ginebra’s Stanley Pringle (No. 12) and Nards Pinto (No. 21), San Miguel’s Terrence Romeo (No. 14), Marcio Lassiter (No. 18), and Don Trollano (coaches/media), and Magnolia’s Jio Jalalon (No. 17) and Ian Sangalang (No. 19).
SMC coaches also swept the two sideline spots with Ginebra’s Tim Cone and San Miguel’s Jorge Gallent.
Other events gracing the All-Star Weekend are the Obstacle Challenge, Three-point Shootout, Slam Dunk Competition, and the Rookie-Sophomores-Juniors game.
PBA fans, however, will get an earlier taste of star-studded basketball action as the 2024 Philippine Cup kicks off on Friday, March 1.
The league will then take a break from March 18 to 30 to make way for the All-Star festivities. – Rappler.com